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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- You know how it goes: the cash seems to magically disappear. You search your wallet deep and far to see if there?s a vacuum hose inside. Lo and behold, nothing appears.

You want to make fewer trips to the ATM, but how? (Besides yanking out 10 $20s at a time.) Financial planners, coaches and editors brainstormed the problems for you and came up with a list of 22 items that could be costing you more than $6,000 a year.

Don?t worry. They don?t want to take away every treat you give yourself. Instead, it?s all about moderation. "We spend without thought, and that gets expensive," said Tracey McBride, author of "Frugal Luxuries."

Use the list to see if many of your downfalls are in a certain area, and then create your own personalized list. Bernie Wolfe, a financial planner and president of Bernard R. Wolfe & Associates in Chevy Chase, Md., said you should make a list of every penny you spend for two months. Decide from there what you want to keep and what you can cut back.

Here are the items where you may be wasting money, based on annual totals. We've grouped them into four categories: Convenience, Food, Neglect and the ever-popular Other category. Some prices vary by region, but see if these items apply to you.

"The ?I deserve,? is a really dangerous conversation." Rennie Gabriel The Financial Coach

Convenience Items

1. Paying for gasoline. Too many people fill up close to empty or swing to the gas station nearest to their home. Prices can fluctuate between 10 cents to 20 cents a gallon in a single neighborhood, said American Automobile Association spokesman Paul Moreno. Annual price of a 17-gallon tank at $1.10 a gallon: $898. Cost for same tank at $1 a gallon: $732.

2. Phone bills. An hour-long phone call can add up if you?ve got too many of them, Gabriel said. Write a letter once a month to a friend instead of putting in that one extra call. Cost: $120.

3. Dry cleaning. You better shop around, kid. Dry cleaning costs can be cut in half by scouting out some of the better-priced places. Ask around to find out the best deal in your neighborhood (not near work -- the prices are usually higher) and you?ll get a sniff for the dry cleaner?s reputation. Cost for dry cleaning at $20 a month: $240. At $15: $180.

4. Kids. They whine. You give them cash so you?ll get some peace. Put them on a budget of $50 a month for everything, and you?ll rack up the savings. Cost by giving in: $2,400. Cost without: $600.

5. ATM fees outside of your bank. It?s the downfall of the ?90s. Cost of five non-home bank withdrawals at $1.50 a pop: $90.

6. Driving to work. Carpooling is great. So is public transportation. Plus, you can let your employer know the Internal Revenue Service lets him write off up to $175 a month per parking space and $65 a month for mass transit per employee. Parking with a space at $100 each: $1,200. Carpooling: $600.

Savings from convenience expenses: $1,636.

"Everything takes planning." Tracey McBride, author

Neglect

7. Forgetting special occasions. You forgot a birthday, an anniversary, or other special occasion, and now you feel guilty. So you?re overpaying. Cost: $100.

8. Bounced checks charges. Not only is it embarrassing, it?s costly. Cost assuming six bounced checks a year at $15 each: $90.

9. Late movie rental returns. The video stores offer you three-day rentals, and you still can?t get it together to have it back on time. Cost for one-day late movie every two weeks: $72.

11. Credit card late fees. You may have paid off your $40 balance but if it arrives a day late, it?s a $20 fee. Paying late six times a year: $132. (We won?t even go into the interest you are likely paying.)

12. Parking tickets. "What for? Because you didn?t put 25 cents in a parking meter?" Gabriel said. With a ticket a month at $25 each: $300.

Savings from cutting out neglect: $714.

"You?re never going to stop them from going to Starbucks." Bernie Wolfe, financial planner

Food

13. Coffee. You love your Starbucks, and they thank you very much for keeping them on top of the coffee pyramid. Assuming six mochas a week at standard $2.80 rate: $874. Cost for three: $437.

14. Over-buying food that spoils. This can be easily rectified if you actually pay attention to what you eat, but too many people don?t. Cost at $15 a month: $180.

15. Vending machines. You might also be addicted to soda pop, which can easily be found in those vending machines around the corner from your office. With two each working day at 60 cents each: $312. A six-pack a week, based on Safeway's current price: $135.

16. Alcohol. Not everyone gets boozed up every night, but buying enough of this stuff will make your wallet depressed along with your psyche. A bottle of wine a week at $10 a bottle: $520. Every other week: $260.

17. Lunch. The ultimate downfall. You use it as an excuse to leave the office, or you just jump out of your chair every time someone offers a dim sum trip. Cost, assuming four lunches at $7 each: $1,456. Twice a week: $724. (You?ll also likely to lose a few pounds.)

18. Dinner. It?s Friday. You?re tired. Cooking is the last thing you want to do, so you go to a restaurant. Good. But don?t go out three times a week -- two will do. Three times a week: $2,600. Twice a week: $1,820. (Look! You can fit into those pants again!)

Food savings: $2,618.

Others

19. Your Internet service provider. If your company?s online, it?s probably got a dial-up number you can use. Worried about them monitoring your email? Set up a Hotmail or Yahoo! account. Cost: $239.

20. Books. Most communities have these great places called libraries, where information is free, including many new books. Give up buying so many, and you?ll see savings. Cost for 12 books a year (half hardcover, half soft): $222. Cost for six: $111.

21. Movies. New releases always sound great in the previews but attending on opening night is not a necessity. You might later find out the movie isn?t worth the $7. Plus there are so many other options: matinees, rentals and discounted theaters are all good for your pocketbook once in a while. Cost for new movie once a week: $364. Cost of attending a new movie every other week with a rental, matinee or discounted film in between: $182.

22. Magazines subscriptions. You get four; you read two. Pay for two and splurge by buying off the rack if you?re really itching for an issue. (Most likely you won?t be.) Cost for four: $60. Cost for two: $30.

Other savings: $562. Total savings: $6,220.

And the sacrifices weren?t even that big. Six books instead of twelve. A 20-minute drive around your neighborhood to find the better deal on gas. Three outings for coffee instead of six. (And fewer jitters!)

"Tiny drops of water make a mighty ocean," McBride said. "It really does add up."

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